release-please-action

In version 4, advanced options previously passed as GitHub Action inputs must now be configured within the release-please manifest configuration file.

Options are categorized into two types:

1. Root-only options: These are configured at the top level of the manifest (e.g., $.plugins, $.always-update).
2. Package-only or Root/Package options: These can be configured at the root level or specifically for a package within the $.packages[path] object (e.g., $.packages[path].changelog-path, $.packages[path].version-file).

Refer to the mapping table for exact key transformations.

| Old Option                         | New Option                                                                  |
| ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `path`                             | `$.packages`                                                                |
| `changelog-path`                   | `$.packages[path].changelog-path`                                           |
| `component`                        | `$.packages[path].component`                                                |
| `package-name`                     | `$.packages[path].package-name`                                             |
| `always-link-local`                | `$.always-link-local`                                                       |
| `always-update`                    | `$.always-update`                                                           |
| `bootstrap-sha`                    | `$.bootstrap-sha`                                                           |
| `commit-search-depth`              | `$.commit-search-depth`                                                      |
| `group-pull-request-title-pattern` | `$.group-pull-request-title-pattern`                                        |
| `last-release-sha`                 | `$.last-release-sha`                                                        |
| `plugins`                          | `$.plugins`                                                                 |
| `release-search-depth`             | `$.release-search-depth`                                                    |
| `sequential-calls`                  | `$.sequential-calls`                                                        |
| `skip-labeling`                    | `$.skip-labeling`                                                           |
| `signoff`                           | `$.signoff`                                                                 |
| `bump-minor-pre-major`             | `$.bump-minor-pre-major` or `$.packages[path].bump-minor-pre-major`          |
| `bump-patch-for-minor-pre-major`   | `$.bump-path-for-minor-pre-major` or `$.packages[path].bump-path-for-minor-pre-major` |
| `changelog-host`                   | `$.changelog-host` or `$.packages[path].changelog-host`                     |
| `changelog-notes-type`             | `$.changelog-type` or `$.packages[path].changelog-type`                     |
| `changelog-types`                  | `$.changelog-sections` or `$.packages[path].changelog-sections`             |
| `component-no-space`               | `$.component-no-space` or `$.packages[path].component-no-space`             |
| `date-format`                      | `$.date-format` or `$.packages[path].date-format`                           |
| `draft`                            | `$.draft` or `$.packages[path].draft`                                       |
| `draft-pull-request`               | `$.draft-pull-request` or `$.packages[path].draft-pull-request`              |
| `exclude-paths`                    | `$.exclude-paths` or `$.packages[path].exclude-paths`                       |
| `extra-files`                      | `$.extra-files` or `$.packages[path].extra-files`                           |
| `extra-labels`                     | `$.extra-labels` or `$.packages[path].extra-labels`                         |
| `include-v-in-tag`                 | `$.include-v-in-tag` or `$.packages[path].include-v-in-tag`                   |
| `initial-version`                  | `$.initial-version` or `$.packages[path].initial-version`                   |
| `labels`                           | `$.label` or `$.packages[path].label`                                       |
| `monorepo-tags`                    | `$.include-component-in-tag` or `$.packages[path].include-component-in-tag` |
| `prerelease`                       | `$.prerelease` or `$.packages[path].prerelease`                             |
| `prerelease-type`                  | `$.prerelease-type` or `$.packages[path].prerelease-type`                   |
| `pull-request-footer`              | `$.pull-request-footer` or `$.packages[path].pull-request-footer`           |
| `pull-request-header`              | `$.pull-request-header` or `$.packages[path].pull-request-header`           |
| `pull-request-title-pattern`       | `$.pull-request-title-pattern` or `$.packages[path].pull-request-title-pattern` |
| `release-as`                       | `$.release-as` or `$.packages[path].release-as`                             |
| `release-labels`                   | `$.release-label` or `$.packages[path].release-label`                       |
| `release-type`                     | `$.release-type` or `$.packages[path].release-type`                         |
| `separate-pull-requests`           | `$.separate-pull-requests` or `$.packages[path].separate-pull-requests`       |
| `skip-changelog`                   | `$.skip-changelog` or `$.packages[path].skip-changelog`                     |
| `skip-github-release`              | `$.skip-github-release` or `$.packages[path].skip-github-release`           |
| `skip-snapshot`                    | `$.skip-snapshot` or `$.packages[path].skip-snapshot`                       |
| `snapshot-labels`                  | `$.snapshot-label` or `$.packages[path].snapshot-label`                     |
| `tag-separator`                    | `$.tag-separator` or `$.packages[path].tag-separator`                       |
| `version-file`                     | `$.version-file` or `$.packages[path].version-file`                         |
| `versioning-strategy`              | `$.versioning-strategy` or `$.packages[path].versioning-strategy`           |

When upgrading from version 3 to version 4, the command option is replaced by specific configuration flags in the release-please manifest. Use the following mapping to update your setup:

• If you used github-release (tagging only): Set skip-github-pull-request: true.
• If you used release-pr (opening PRs only): Set skip-github-release: true.
• If you used manifest (using a manifest file): Do not set the release-type option; this is now the default behavior.
• If you used manifest-pr (using a manifest and opening PRs only): Set skip-github-release: true and do not set the release-type option.

| Command          | New Configuration                                                | Description                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `github-release` | `skip-github-pull-request: true`                                 | This command was used for only tagging releases. Now we tell release-please to skip opening release PRs.                                                                                                   |
| `release-pr`     | `skip-github-release: true`                                      | This command was used for only opening release PRs. Now we tell release-please to skip tagging releases.                                                                                                   |
| `manifest`       | do not set `release-type` option                                | This command told release-please to use a manifest config file. This is now the default behavior unless you explicitly set a `release-type`.                                                               |
| `manifest-pr`    | `skip-github-release: true` and do not set `release-type` option | This command told release-please to use a manifest config file and only open the pull request.                                                                                                           |

To automate releases using Conventional Commits, create a .github/workflows/release-please.yml file. This basic setup uses a release-type to define the strategy.

Prerequisites:

• Ensure your commits follow the Conventional Commits convention.
• Create a Personal Access Token (PAT) and store it as a GitHub Action secret (e.g., MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN). While the action defaults to secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN, using a PAT is often necessary for certain workflows.

Permissions Required:

• contents: write
• issues: write
• pull-requests: write

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

permissions:
  contents: write
  issues: write
  pull-requests: write

name: release-please

jobs:
  release-please:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        with:
          # Use your PAT stored in secrets
          token: ${{ secrets.MY_RELEASE_PLEASE_TOKEN }}
          # Defines the release strategy
          release-type: simple

For GitHub Actions or libraries where users pin to major/minor versions (e.g., v2 or v2.8), you can use the major, minor, and release_created outputs to manually create and push these tags via a shell script in your workflow.

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
name: release-please
jobs:
  release-please:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: googleapis/release-please-action@v4
        id: release
        with:
          release-type: node
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: tag major and minor versions
        if: ${{ steps.release.outputs.release_created }}
        run: |
          git config user.name github-actions[bot]
          git config user.email 41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com
          git remote add gh-token "https://${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}@github.com/googleapis/release-please-action.git"
          git tag -d v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }} || true
          git tag -d v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}.${{ steps.release.outputs.minor }} || true
          git push origin :v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }} || true
          git push origin :v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}.${{ steps.release.outputs.minor }} || true
          git tag -a v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }} -m "Release v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}"
          git tag -a v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}.${{ steps.release.outputs.minor }} -m "Release v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}.${{ steps.release.outputs.minor }}"
          git push origin v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}
          git push origin v${{ steps.release.outputs.major }}.${{ steps.release.outputs.minor }}